If you buy the book (which you should) you will learn more about the human body and its relationship to exercise than you had ever imagined was possible.

I can guarantee one thing: If you read this book you will never return to your old workout routine again.

What you are about to read is a product of my first 5 months of “field” testing. A product of what I have read, and what I have found while doing Occam’s Protocol and searching for the most streamlined approach possible.

In “Body By Science” we are introduced to the foundation behind Occam’s Protocol. A well tested method for building muscle.

The program consists exclusively of compound exercises – those that involve rotation around several joint axes – and thus involve several muscle groups per exercise.

These exercises are big but simple movements that involve multiple muscle groups and are also easy for the average person to coordinate and perform.

A trainee who is relatively well conditioned and is going to true failure should perform this workout once every 7 days.

The Big 8 Workout

The Big 3:

A Core of 3 will work all the major muscle structures of the body (these will be labeled below under “the big 3”)

Chest Press: Upper body “pushing” exercise

Lat Pull-down: Upper body “pulling” exercise

Leg Press: Lower Body “everything” exercise

Added to this core to create The Big 5 are:

Seated Row: Upper Body “pulling” exercise

Overhead Press: Upper Body “pushing” exercise

Added to this are 3 exercises from the 4 Hour Body:

Myotatic Crunch

Cat Vomit

The Kettlebell Swing

Total = 8 exercises encompassing all the major muscle structures of the body performed just like Occam’s Protocol with a 5/5 count just once every 7 days.

Let’s take a look at the sequence:

EXERCISE 1 (Big 5):

Seated Row: Upper Body “pulling” exercise

Muscles Recruited

Latissimus Dorsi

Rhomboid (draw shoulders together)

Spinal extensors running from the base of sacrum to the back of the head

Flexor side of the forearm that flex your wrists and biceps

And the brachioradialis muscles that bend your arm at the elbow

Exercise 2 (Big 3)

Chest Press: Upper body “pushing” exercise

Muscles Recruited

Triceps Muscles (to a great extent)

Deltoid (surrounding the shoulder joint)

Pectoralis Major and Pectoralis Minor

Exercise 3 (Big 3)

Lat Pull-down: Upper body “pulling” exercise

Muscles Recruited

Properly performed the pull-down exercise thoroughly activates almost all of the muscles of the torso- front and back

Latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back

The gripping muscles, or forearm flexors

Biceps: Although most train the biceps with single-joint movements such as barbell curls, the biceps crosses both the elbow and shoulder joints, so by doing a pull-down that involves rotation around the elbow and the shoulder joint, you’re involving the biceps from both ends.

Exercise 4 (Big 5)

Overhead Press: Immediately after the pull-down, you should move on to the overhead press.When this exercise is performed properly, you will be engaging all of the muscles involved in an upper-body “pushing” movement, similar to those involved in the chest press.

Muscles Recruited

Triceps

Deltoid

Pectoralis Major and Minor

Exercise 5 (Big 3)

Leg Press: The final exercise in the workout is the leg press, which covers virtually every muscle group in the lower body.

Muscles Recruited

The leg press exercise hits the entire lower body from the waist down, with particular emphasis on the hip and buttock musculature. It also strongly involves the hamstring musculature on the back of the thighs and the quadriceps musculature located on the front of the thighs, and to some extent, there is also rotation around the ankle joint, which serves to recruit and load the gastrocnemius (calf) muscles of the lower leg. There are many leg press machines from which to choose, with varying pressing angles. Any of them will do the job, but the larger the angle is from linear (straight up and down), the less resistance you are moving (in much the same way that pushing your car horizontally down a street would be much easier than pushing it directly overhead). Exceptions to this would be both Nautilus and MedX leg press machines that make use of offset cams to vary the resistance properly.

Exercise 6 (4HB)

Myotatic Crunch

Muscles Recruited:

Rectus Abdominis

Internal Oblique

External Oblique

Exercise 7 (4HB)

Cat Vomit

Muscles Recruited

Transverse abdominis

Exercise 8 (4HB)

The Kettlebell Swing

Muscles Recruited:

Hamstrings

Glutes

Core/Abs

Back (all parts from the lower back all the way to the traps)

Arms/Forearms

The beauty of the Big 8 Workout is

The above routine can be modified to your own needs and time constraints: For example if you do not have time to do all 8 exercises you could perform only the Big 3 or for a more complete program you could perform the Big 5.

Part of your routine can be performed at the gym with the other part performed at home. For example: I like to do my heavy weight lifting at the gym along with my abdominal routine and do my kettlebell swings later at home.

It is once every 7 days! This is perfect for anyone who is active in other sports. I love to run, bike, swim, play tennis, etc… For me this one day a week workout routine allows me to do what Tim talks about all the time: Do more of what I really love to do.

Some recommendations from real world practice

Start with Occam’s Protocol and use this as your base. Once you plateau consider transitioning into a BIG 8 WORKOUT. This way you can get a more complete routine every 7 days. I think this is a bit better as a long term weight training solution.

I have not mentioned this here but you could also mix up a partial free weight and machine weight routine for variation. This is something I will discuss and demonstrate in a future blog post.

In The Body by Science they talk about the BIG 5 routine as the “index fund of workouts”. I love this idea. If you know anything about investing you will know that you can constantly change your funds by chasing the market. The same is true with your workout routine. If you buy a good mix of funds that is well diversified and covers all major parts of the market you will beat the competition 9 times out of ten.

The Big 8 Workout: Is the only mutual fund you will need. It is well diversified, covers all your major muscle groups and if you stick with it, it will give you long term returns on your investment. Guaranteed!

Make sure you track your progress. Grab a clipboard and carry it with you while you work out. Write down your weight lifted, and note your seat heights. This is all you need.

Resources

Kettlebell : Shop around, Amazon has several options, just make sure you purchase one with free shipping. I personally bought a 53 pound bell, it is quite heavy and you may want to start smaller and work your way up. Given the cost it may be cheaper to build one as demonstrated in the book. But I like the size and ease of use of the actual kettlebell.

Bosu Balance Trainer : Honestly this is a must have. I am lucky enough to have one at my gym. But, if I didn’t I would purchase one. This is the best workout for your abs I have every tried. And it is easy on the back and neck.

While I think that any exercise that you do properly in the gym is good, and just going to a gym in general is good, I don’t think Occam’s is a good workout for people that have experience lifting, or have any sort of athletic goals.

I also find it ironic to use a kettlebell, which is the most functional piece of gym equipment out there, and then switch to the leg press? Seems ass backwards to me.

For people that work out at home and have kettlebells, chin up bar (and some sort of suspension system like TRX) … you can do the following to replace the above Leg Press < Goblet Squat Pull Down < Chin Up Chest Press < Elevated/Suspended Push Up Seated Row < Bent over Row (Single leg opposite arm) or Suspended row Over Head Press < Over head press with kettlebells or handstand press

Why don’t you think Occam’s is good for people who have athletic goals? Or even experience lifting?

I had my doubts at first as well. But after several months of implementing the protocol I have not only maintained the muscle I had starting the protocol but have increased my strength and muscle definition, while simultaneously cutting my gym time in half (if not more than half).

Of course for me weight training is something I do to help maintain strength and I use this as cross training for other activities. Like you (I believe) I took up barefoot running a couple years back. I have noticed that since starting the protocol my running has improved as has my ability to climb hills on my bike and on foot.

But, this protocol I believe is much more complete than the gym workout I was was doing before. Which involved several more movements, multiple sets and even more reps. The key was I was just going through the motions and never probably getting to the complete exhaustion that is crucial to building muscle.

I am sure you right, there are probably better routines out there depending on your goals. But I workout alongside many people at the gym who seem to have been there for years, are still lifting the same way, spending hours at the gym and seem to be making little to no progress. This may be where Occam’s can really be effective. This may be why it was so effective for me. I also love an extremely easy to follow routine that most people can implement without too much fuss.

This is why I plan on using this as the foundation of a workout that I can give to my patients that they can take home on a double sided piece of paper and implement that day. Kettlebell or not, in fact I think that is the most optional part of the big 8 workout because it can be cost prohibitive and I will probably be omitting that in my patient handout.

Either way, I value your ideas and opinions on this matter. You have had great results and obviously know what you are talking about! My big goal here is to put together a handout for not only readers of this blog but my patients that they can implement quickly and easily. I unfortunately do not even know what a goblet squat is, but I would like to learn! I love the workout you mentioned above. Maybe you could put this together with photos and a demo on your blog, I am sure people, including myself would love to implement your routine, we just may need a bit more coaching.

Sarah, I agree. Kettlebells are quite expensive.. and did I mention.. heavy! When the post women arrived with mine that I ordered online she asked if I could help her lift it out of her truck. That is when I had my first Harajuku moment.. Wow, I couldn’t believe I ordered a 53 pound kettlebell! The movements are a bit tough to get down and Occam’s protocol itself is full of steps that at first are a bit intimidating and well… confusing!

If you are thinking of buying kettlebell make sure you try a couple first, I wen’t to the local sporting good store and had another Harajuku moment when I saw the same 53 pound kettlebell for sale at over 100 dollars. But, I was able to lift it and see if it was a good weight. This is important. Also, in the book Tim explains how to build one on the cheap. But this also involves purchasing some weighted plates.

Either way, beginning a new process is always the hardest part because of that initial learning curve. Just the first two days of Occam’s Protocol is tough because you have to find your starting points. But, after a couple of sessions you can get the hang of it, and it is fun.

and no Kettlebell? No problem, I find small animals (particularly overweight cats) or children can make a good substitute for a kettlebell. Just make sure to handle with care

Hello, I really like your workout…but as a 22yo student I am not that limited in time etc. I don’t want to train too much, but would it be better for me to do this plan twice a week? Or is it better to stick with 1 session a week? I don’t do other sports that much, let’s say once, max. twice a week – badminton, squash…And although I believe that gym twice a week is enough if you follow the correct all-round plan, I am not that sure about 1x a week.

I think it is a great 2x per week strategy. I used Tim’s split version A + B workout for some time (about 3 months). Once I reached a plateu I developed this routine based on th big 5 workout discussed in body by science. Since I crosstrain several times per week I prefer one day in the gym, but for years I had always done 2. So yes start with 2 and just make sure you are counting 5 up and 5 down. The key is COMPLETE exhaustion which is kind of tricky. I can almost guarantee that you will be the only guy lifting so slowly on the gym. Embrace being unique

Thanks for reply! I read the 4HB book and thought about original Occam’s protocol as well. But as a medical student I like the ideas from Body by science (I checked some vids etc.) that I in fact discovered after reading this article and ordered today. Therefore I am not sure whether to start Tim’s “tweaked” Occam’s protocol or try his original source – the big 5 improved with the 3 voluntary excercises from the 4HB book that I would do as well If I chose Occam’s protocol. What do you think? Which one should I choose? (And we shouldn’t forget Tim is not a doctor despite his deep research. He tends to simplify and sometimes makes too simple conslusions.) Anyway, I start one of the plans very soon as it’s better to actually do something than to overanalyse, so I’ll write a summary of my progress later. Thanks for advice. Greetings from the Czech Republic. Andrew

I am so excited to see people from all over the world entering the conversation! How far are you into your medical training?

I would start with Occam’s Protocol exactly like it is in the book. I say this because Tim gives a very detailed explanation of the process for finding your ideal starting weights. And the A + B workout routine is fun, organized and a great place to start. Stick with it for a while until you get to the point where your workouts are spaced out and you have the hang of it. Then begin experimenting.

Consider giving the Occam’s feeding protocol a try. I learned so much about creatine, different types of protein supplementation, glutamine etc. etc. I don’t particularly like taking all these supplements and I felt the effects were short lived and really not worth it for the average person looking to get into better shape. But the learning process is invaluable and what you will find is that depending on your specialty as you continue on in your medical training you will really be able to guide your patients much better. In the States many people take these types of supplements. This information is not covered in the average medical school and the patients you council in the future will benefit from your knowledge. At least I know mine have.

You said it. Start simple and don’t over-analyze. The routine that works best for you will grow and change over time and throughout life. Based on your needs, time and doing what you love!

I am currently going through my 3rd year of studies (out of six) at Prague. Immunology, Microbiology, Pathology, Pathophysiology, Clinical propedeutics…The faculty is connected with Motol, the largest hospital in Central Europe, which is good for students as there are many patients with unique diagnosis.http://www.lf2.cuni.cz/Informace/basic.htm#mas I study in Czech of course, but there is also a possibility to study in English – for foreigners. Do You follow the dietary recommendations from the book as well? And You are right, although we get a lot of information about priciples, cycles, mechanisms…it’s up to everybody to make a conclusion about diet or excercise. The Biochemistry professor even told us a joke about how he tried to make an ideal diet from all the studies made and ended up with 60 percent carbohydrates, 60 percent proteins, 60 percent fat and 60 percent fibre:)) I think it is very valuable to be able to respond to your patients when they ask about those “popular” topics and it’s better to be prepared to give them information they can actually use and understand.

I believe in the idea of less carbohydrates. I am not an all out Paleolithic guy because I believe in many of the advances in food science I also am aware that product marketing and corporate America will sell anything if it makes them a profit… Including diet books!!

It is about balance, finding what works best for yourself and of course helping others find an reach their own goals. I was watching a documentary where the documentarian went to many of the Southern States in the US and asked them if they would consider switching to a less “inflammatory” diet. You can guess what their answer was.

The truth is not everyone cares and that is fine. For some people the time here is to live it up have fun and ingest anything that fits a budget. I get this, sometimes I live this way. But we are all unique, and having lived both lives I find trying to maintain better health has left me feeling better, with more energy, vitality and all the rest that comes with this. But you have to be in the right place mentally and feel good about yourself in the first place.

We in America are blessed to have time and resources to make these types of decisions many people across the world need food, and cheap food. Food science has helped us address that problem. But in places where it is overly abundant (like the US) it has made for an unhealthy nation of over-consumers!

Hello Stephen, it’s me again. I did some “research”… Don’t you think the kettlebell swings are rather against the principles of BBS? It’s very difficult to get the form right, especially if there is no instructor and if you don’t move from lighter to heavier weights. So there are 5 really simple “injury free” big5 movements, then two somewhat controversial, but safe and then kettlebell stands out. I believe it can cause really severe lower back problems long term if the form is not perfect. And the perfect form may be hard to achieve. This is what Doug says about lower back training…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyyVGgouJvY&feature=player_embedded Btw, do you go to one of the “recommended” fitness centres like Nautilus, MedX, Hammerstrength etc.? I sometimes wonder if “average fitness centre” with rather noname machines can do the job as Doug places a lot of emphasis on quality equipment. It may be partially due to his personal interests in business, though. He repeatedly claimed that you can follow the protocol with almost any equipment and have good results. What about the two remaining 4HB “sixpack” excercises, do you see any difference?

It is funny you bring this up. I was telling my wife last night that ever since giving up my old workout routine all of the aches and pain’s that I used to experience have vanished… An annoying epicondilitis (that I now attribute to my old bench press routine), occasional anterior knee pain (that I attribute to squats) and occasional low back pain (but I think this went away because of a transition to barefoot running).

Are kettlebell swings rather against the principles of BBS? Now looking at this many month’s later I will have to say probably YES! You actually hit the nail on the head when you talked about going from lighter to heavier K-bell’s. Something that is hard to do simply because of the cost. I know I started with too heavy of a weight and I am lucky that I din’t throw my back out. Tim doesn’t talk about this much in the 4HB. It took me some time to get the movement down, now I can do it without putting strain on my lower back and that is only from practice and knowing what to expect from the movement.

I don’t use my K-bell much. I basically just do the big 5 workout with the abdominal routine mentioned above. Which I love. The only reason I have not developed 6 pack abs is because I have not been as true to my diet. Which is the only real requirement to getting those abs… getting rid of that extra body fat and my “dad” pad as I like to call it.

I do like the K-bell swing as a core workout though.

I have a gym membership to 24 Hour Fitness (I can see you cringing) but I have had it forever and it is dirt cheap. We have access to all of the above you mentioned as well as Cross Fit centers popping up like Starbucks. But I am beginning to think Cross Fit is too much for most people. But it can be fun, and it has a strong community aspect.

Most of this depends on your goals. For me I like to be on my mountain bike, in the surf, outside on a long run, hiking with my kids. The gym is a once a week routine that I use because I find it helps keep maintain strength and muscle definition, and it is habit.

What is your workout routine? Do you follow the principles of BBS?

I really appreciate your comment, the video was great and I will have to watch the rest in the series when I have a little more time this weekend.

I am currently experiencing Protocol Choice Paralysis:-) I’d like to perform big5 workout + the ab routine, I’ve got the bosu ball (Although not original Bosu, it’s pretty good, much cheaper and for the one exercise, more than adequate.) But in Prague, so far I found just one Hammerstrength gym which is quite far from my college. But once a week I guess I could lose an hour or so travelling…haven’t been there yet though. It’s a big gym with many machines etc., so I should find all the equipment for the big5, but one never knows especially as it’s not no.1 choice by Doug, rather no.4. Some adjustment may be needed. Then there is a gym close to the college that uses some “Grun Sport” equipment which I think is Czech company. It is I’d say standard, but I have no idea if it’s good. I!ll probably have to visit both places and make a decision. Another option is making a dumbbell program based on big5 ideas as that would allow me not to even leave my place and do a workout in a gym like 10 meres away:)) But I am afraid that going to failure and maintenance of proper technique will be difficult…as well as finding the fund of excercises that is balanced and adding the weight to progress….sometimes it’s not that easy as with machines. I already found some books that could help me. http://www.premierepersonalfitness.com/products_books_dumbbell_training.phphttp://www.amazon.com/Moment-Arm-Exercise-Bill-Simone/dp/B000RQCU46/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1330465369&sr=8-2 But I still thing that Big5 is better and it will allow me to control all the variables in much easier way (going to failure, adding weight, proper form). I just need to test the two gyms. I have to admit that I am somewhat under pressure at school now, that’s what kind of sets me back from doing it, there are different priorities for few next weeks. Now I just do some dumbbell excercises at home + today my bosu ball arrived.

Just make sure no matter what you chose you use simple tools to make this a habit. Since you are busy at school this is even more important. Make sure you schedule your workouts at a time that will be reasonable and doesn’t require a lot of work or travel to get to the gym. Develop a routine and track your progress… A simple clipboard is what I used at the beginning, now I track on Evernote. I cannot stress more the importance of developing a routine and sticking with it. The final part… Make sure there is a reward. This could be as simple as the endorphin rush you get after your lifting, or just feeling good about yourself. Or it could be more concrete. But it is important to developing a habit.

When I was in Germany I did not get to go to Prague although I heard it is quite beautiful!

Great article! I`ve read Body by Science and 4HBW. Both have lots of similarities, for example, close to same workouts and about exercise not being so good for fat loss. Stephen, just a minor corrections and thoughts about your articles: 1- about Leg press: I am almost sure it works basically the quadriceps. When I do just leg press in one day, the next day only my Quad are sore. A good alternative to the leg press: Squat Machine. Just don`t do the Squat in the Smith Machine(huts your back and your knees) 2- about Bent Over Row: Stuart McRobert, in his book Beyond Brawn says he wishes he didn`t did this exercise, after years doing that one he received some injures. Dorian Yates, the one who inveted the yates row you see in 4HWB, had a biceps and triceps tear, probably by doing yates row. Greetings from Bahia, Brazil!

can you tell me what king of acivities are aceptable between 2 big five or the A &B routines? Can I do any activity at all? I used to run or climb 2 times a week and also have a littele routine with pushups and situps every day? Can I continue or will this ruin everything?

I personally do all the big 5 workouts 1-2 times per week. Usually just one time now, mixed with calisthenics at home. I run 2-3x per week… One long run and an interval or hill day (or both). This is absolutely fine.

I use Tim’s Occam’s Protocol as a guide for my lifting routines with the above combo of pushing and pulling exercises. This has been great, and has left me injury free.

I don’t use the K-bell much anymore because it was hurting my back. I need to go back and work on my form.

That is my routine and I find it works well with Occam s. Get’s all the major muscle groups and is a very minimalist routine that can build or maintain muscle quite well.

Well, I am still using this routine today. Although I have not been swinging the K-bell for some time. The first five months were my best gains. I lost body fat, gained LBM and actually increased my total inches while decreasing my in gym time by probably 70-80%. I like the big five workout and it makes for a great total body routine, combined with my cardio workouts that are all about outside and enjoying life I am happier than I have ever been with my workout routine! I would definitely give it a try.

Hey Travis, yes we were doing some tracking both me personally http://www.4hourlife.com/four-hour-body-results-and-tracking/ and then on our fourhourfit site. We need to update our stats and photos, but we were all pretty busy over the summer. I hope to start posting updates again with measurements and photos shortly.

Take a look at the Paleo diet that I have been utilizing for the past 4 months. Their internet site is: http://www.paleodietregimen.com I am a 42 year old male and started at 290 lbs. and following 30 days I’d lost around 50 lbs, and I now weigh about 175 and holding. This food plan truly does work as it mimics the pure diet our ancestors ate which lived sickness free. It’s also referred to as the caveman diet.

I agree with you the Paleo diet is a very good balanced nutrition program that can be quite effective for many people.

It is not as easy as many people make it look and among my patients I find the 4-Hour Body Diet has a better “stick with it” rate. But, for many who have stalled on the slow carb diet or have severe insulin resistance with a larger than normal inflammatory component the Paleo diet seems to really make a tremendous difference. I have seen it literally transform people.

Congratulations on your weight loss (it is extraordinary) I hope you can help others achieve the same goals as well.

Thanks for a great website. My question is that if you use this body by science routine, how does the supplementation work? Do you continue to use Creatine after 28 days? Do you only use Glutamine on workout days, thus only 1 day a week (following the 5 day loading period)?

It depends Raj. I use Occam’s once or twice a week and I cross train as well… Running, cycling, surfing, etc. etc. I continue to use Glutamine post-workout but you certainly don’t have too. Your body will adapt regardless. I tend to back and forth with supplementation. Supplementing at times when I am trying to achieve certain physical goals. Eating 30 grams of protein for a couple months and then modifying my diet.

Most of this is trial and error. I would recommend using glutamine only days that you are exercising. Use the 30 grams of protein in the morning 30 minutes within waking daily for 2-3 months. Attacking a slow carb diet and then modifying it over the year to fit your needs. As you get closer to your goals it will become clear. Don’t be afraid of screwing it up, because honestly you can’t!!! Make sure you write your goal down, and just follow the path of least resistance to getting there.

And yes, even after a year and a half I still love the body by science routine!!!

Thank you. That makes perfect sense. I work long hours (typical in my profession) and have two very active little boys so BBS has been perfect for my lifestyle. I love the feeling after the workout becuase I am ablsolutely and thoroughly spent. I have only been doing it for the last 3-4 months, but my strength is increasing and my time under load is going up. It is a workout you have to learn, but can be life changing in being able to balance your life and your fitness. Thanks again for a great website and your response. Raj

I was going to workout today because its January the first…but realized thats just silly. I’m sore right now due in part to eating really poorly lately and probably not getting enough water.

I’d like to do some work tomorrow when I hopefully go into the gym for the first time with my brother. I just got a year gym membership for both of us, but I have no clue what weights to start at for the big 5.

80% maximum …I don’t remember anything in BBS that mentioned how to easily find this amount..I know I need to start at a lower weight and find it somehow…but what is that lower weight.

If anyone has a good resource that I don’t have to buy that would be great. I printed off a workout sheet with the big 5 and the TUL stuff and I can write my start weights on there.

I don’t want to injure myself starting off..wouldn’t be a good start to the year.

Hi Jonathan, I used Occam’s Protocol from The 4-Hour Body as my guide to picking and advancing my weights. I would highly recommend a one-time investment. Choosing the correct weight is complicated and it is worth it to take either the physical version or the eBook with you to the gym as you being the protocol. The Kindle edition is quite good and will save you some money. I actually prefer the description by Tim over that in Body by Science, although I like the Big 5 workout a bit better for the long-term.

Hello, my name is Stephen. I am a family practice Physician Assistant, dad, perpetual life hacker, and a self-proclaimed Tim Ferriss four-hour-fanatic. This site is all about Tim Ferriss and putting the concepts behind his books: The Four Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body and the 4-Hour Chef into practice. I believe these tools can be used successfully to live a happier and healthier life. If you are new to the site here is a good place to start.